Troubled Teens Resources

I’m not sending David to any troubled teen boarding school. My lord, he’s just being a teen. Yeah,yeah, I know he’s starting to break more rules, but, come on. I told him all about my drug days. He know it’s a waste of time.

Oh really? David Sr. more or less expressed the above sentiments when family members told him that they were concerned about his son’s behavior. David didn’t listen until  David Jr’s overdose on bad heroin. Fortunately the young man lived and fortunately his father woke up to reality and enrolled him in a military boot camp.

End of denial and end of story. You either deal,or you don’t. If parents can’t face the reality of their drug addicted teen’s behavior, than they have failed and failed miserably. Ignorance is one thing that a parent can no longer claim. There is too much information out there and too many resources to go to for help.

It’s not rocket science and you really do not want to wait until the night the cop knocks on your door to come to grips with the reality that your “OK” teen is in deep trouble.

Look for the following - it really is this simple:

• Teens showing defiance and/or hostility toward parents and authority figures
• Teens hanging around with a negative peer group
• Teens beginning to experiment with drinking or trying drugs
• Teens showing signs of low self-esteem, self-defeating behaviors, or mild depression
• Teens who do not respond well to traditional talk therapy
• Teens with AD/HD who respond better to experiential education
• Teens who have resisted other forms of intervention

There are many variables for a parent to discuss with their troubled teen’s therapist before making a decision on the right combination of therapies, treatment programs and academics they hope to see when choosing which boarding school or boot camp best meets the needs of their out of control teen.

Much depends on the troubled teen’s stage of addiction along with evidence of possible severe emotional disorders or possible physical ailments The age and maturity  of the troubled teen, family finances, and location of the preferred teen boarding school are some of the myriad  factors that come into play.

MSN.com provides a page of guidelines for parents struggling with this difficult decision process.

Appropriate treatment for level of use

• If your teen has started experimenting with alcohol, cigarettes, inhalants, or drugs, education about the harmful effects of substances through a school or community program may be all that is needed. Some schools have programs for students with alcohol and drug use problems that provide support and drug education. At this level of substance use, encouraging your teen to be involved in healthy activities (such as sports, hobbies, or church), spend time with the family, and participate in a healthy peer group may help him or her develop the skills to avoid substance abuse.
• If your teen is abusing a substance regularly (at least weekly), some form of treatment is usually needed. At this level of substance use, it is important to pay close attention to your teen’s concerns, which may be related to emotional or self-esteem problems. Finding activities that your teen can substitute for substance use is important for him or her to be able to remain alcohol- and drug-free. Treatment in an adolescent outpatient or hospital program is recommended. The focus of treatment should be on helping the teen gain skills to refuse drugs in the future. Since substance abuse problems affect the whole family, family counseling also should be a part of treatment.
• If your teen is dependent on alcohol or drugs, he or she will need treatment in a structured program and may need medical attention for withdrawal symptoms. For example, if your child is addicted to heroin or another opiate, he or she may be referred to a methadone treatment program. These programs use the medication methadone to help people cope with the withdrawal symptoms caused by opiate use. In addition, a teen needs to learn coping skills to deal with the anger, frustration, sadness, and disappointment that are often associated with substance abuse and recovery. Again, family involvement is important to your teen’s success in remaining substance-free.
• If your teen is dependent on cigarettes or other tobacco products, he or she needs to quit to prevent serious health problems. For more information, see the topic Quitting Tobacco Use.

Types of programs

There are several types of teen substance abuse treatment programs.

Inpatient programs are highly structured, closely supervised programs located within a hospital or treatment facility. The teen stays day and night during treatment, which normally lasts about 4 weeks. These programs usually have an aftercare program that provides support and encouragement after treatment.

• Inpatient programs provide education and individual, family, and group counseling. They are often based on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.
• Another type of inpatient program is the therapeutic community, which is not based in a hospital. In a therapeutic community program, the teen accomplishes a series of tasks with constant feedback from his or her peers. Therapeutic community programs may last as long as 2 years, and some teens choose to stay and work in the program after treatment.
• Outpatient programs range from very structured programs with psychotherapy and family therapy to drop-in centers.
• Outpatient day treatment programs require that the teen spend 8 hours or more during the day at the facility, but the teen is home at night. Day treatment programs usually have the same components (individual, group, and family counseling) as inpatient programs, but day treatment normally costs less.
• Less intensive outpatient programs are designed for young people who do not need residential, hospitalization, or intensive day treatment. Treatment includes individual or group counseling and family therapy, and some settings use 12-step programs. Programs vary in how many days and hours per week are required.
• Wilderness challenge programs are also considered outpatient programs. These programs combine a wilderness experience and some form of treatment to help troubled teens communicate better with their family, control their anger, and build healthy relationships. A variety of programs are available, and their quality varies greatly. Talk with a health professional if you are considering sending your teen to a wilderness program.

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With the immense peer pressure endured by teenagers combined with a culture that has come to depict drug abuse and out of control behavior as glamorous, what good do mere words from parents have on the impressionable young children and troubled teens in their care?

Plenty. More than you know, trust me. This was brought home to me in one incident that I can recall from my teenager’s life. I had casually cautioned him that no matter how much he admired his friends, friends could lead him astray simply because they were operating with faulty information. The topic that produced this mundane bit of advice was around the subject of drug abuse and the “latest research” that suggested marijuana had no long lasting detrimental effects on a teen’s development. The particular purveyor of this faulty information was, at the time, a star athlete and top student who was just beginning to dabble in drugs and purported to have all of the latest info.

I advised my son that to be a good friend, perhaps he should take the time to research this on his own. His friend’s info turned out to be sourced from a popular counter culture magazine that omitted all research contradicting his assertions.

My son later confided that because of that one seemingly inconsequential conversation, he rejected any future efforts by his peer group to experiment with drugs. He did the research and learned that even the brightest and most admirable of his buddies could be dead wrong.

So, yes, please do talk with your kids about drug and alcohol abuse. They may spurn your attempts and it may seem that they didn’t hear a word, but, trust me, they are listening .
Talk With Kids is a highly informative site that helps parents conduct these conversations with their young pre-teens and troubled teens. Visit, bookmark it ,and use it.